Silent Propinquity
by slittare
Summary: Based from Aria's perspective afew months after the end of season two. Ezra has been in a car accident - outting their relationship to not only Aria's family but also Ezras. What will happened to them now? And what will A have to use against them?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, this is my first official posting of a fanfic, please be gentle but I would appreciate any constructive criticism you might have. I'm not entirely sure where I am going to go with this; I have a basic idea but nothing concrete. And yeah it's kind of got some flashbacks in it. Also it's based a few months after the end of season 2.  
Also I do not own Pretty Little Liars, so yeah. (:**

There are parts of your life, single periods of time that you can detach from everything else. I use to fear Ezra was like that. Just a school girl crush for me and a phase just a phase he was going through - sure when we met it wasn't like he knew I was going to be one of his students. Still, that didn't make any of my insecurities go away; neither did him quitting his teaching job.

Now, looking over his stilled body and the way he appeared so small and fragile against the vast space of the hospital room, I know I cannot define him as something that can just be detached from my life. Within the last year he has become a part of me, indefinitely so that it is almost like he is like my right hand. With writing as my passion it would make the loss of my hand deeming that impossible to do. So to he has also become a life force for me, a searing passion inside my soul that I would end up being so lost without him.

It's super corny, I know. What makes this even worse is I've always hated those small-minded, naive girls that would always believe that they were in love from the start of high school, and swear that they could never face living when their boyfriends inevitably dumped their clingy arses. Even while I was with Ezra when he was teaching, and as intense as it was, it seemed to be all about that passion and lust with a slight taste of infatuation mixed in with them. Never about true love, or any plans of 'forever'. I'm not sure if it was because I had come to distrust men, through many observations of classmates and their betrayal. Oh and of course never forgetting seeing my dad cheating on mum and the way I was forced to keep that secret for over a year. When Ezra quit at Rosewood High for us, I still wasn't sure that this was a definite thing between us.

All the stigma and prejudice I had built up against those girls that were 'in-love' with their first boyfriend in high school has slowly disintegrated, knocking down my barriers and leaving me vulnerable.

I hadn't realised just how vulnerable til now.

_Three days before. _

There was a resounding three knocks on the front door that echoed loudly through the house to where I was situated in the lounge room flicking through night time television. Agh, I so didn't want interruptions tonight. It was my last night home alone before my parents and brother returned from the state lacrosse trials. I hadn't had much time to myself lately between hanging out with the girls and sleepovers with Ezra, so I had planned to relish this last night on my own.

Unfolding myself from the warm cocoon I had constructed on my couch in preparation for a good night in, I stalked down the hall severely annoyed at whoever was at the door. I through open the door, glaring up at whoever could possibly have be knocking at 8 on a school night and disturbing my intimate peace. This is when I stopped. Any previous expression of distaste quickly faded, being replaced with numb uncertainty as I looked straight into the eyes of the police officer that had stepped forward, his posture downcast and sullen, ready to bare remorseful news.

This brings me back to now. My gaze tracing only to begin retracing the smooth lines of his face, and sometimes dropping down to his hand that I had hardly let go of over the past few days. Each day was wearing me to utter exhaustion, seeing Ezra in his current comatose state was almost too much to bare. I had immediately thought that the officers that were standing on my doorstep were there regarding my family, even though I had only heard from them not even an hour before hand that's where my mind had first jumped to. I had almost prepared myself for them to tell me something had happened to them when the breath was knocked out of me when they said Ezra's name.

After that I scarcely heard the words that then tumbled out of their mouths. They all just blurred, there was something to do with a car accident and that they couldn't get a hold of any relatives. They contacted me because Wren, Spencers sisters ex-fiancé, recognised my photo in Ezra's wallet. His injuries weren't extensive, a few cracked ribs – what they were worried about however was possible brain swelling and damage so they had sedated him for the past few days. Hence him being in a medical coma.

Three long days it had been, three days without talking to him, without laughing, flirting, hugging, kissing. Three days without anything more than his cold hand placed within mine, even this was only possible with assistance on my behalf in grasping his hand.

My parents didn't have much choice in whether or not I could visit him in hospital. Mum already knew about Ezra and I and we had been discussing how to warm dad to the idea. She was gradually warming to the idea, and had learnt to trust me with my own life and decisions. When I had called mum that night in such a panicked state, she instinctively knew that something was wrong. I told her that Ezra was in the hospital and that I was on my way over there at that moment in the police vehicle with the officers that had come to inform me of the accident. She told me to breathe and that they would be back as soon as they could in the morning, that I could take the next day off and that she would handle dad.

To this day I still am not sure what she has said to him, but I do know that dad hasn't mentioned anything to do with Ezra and my ongoing relationship, instead just standing by my side in silent support. Whether or not he was just waiting until it was definite that Ezra was fully okay and awake until he wrapped me across the knuckles for my blatant deception or if he had finally come to understand that what I had with Ezra was real and very much my own decision, I didn't know yet and I wasn't really concerned either.

"Miss Montgomery, um we're ready to take the sedation off if you're ready…" the voice of Ezra's doctor startled me from behind. I turned with a strained smile to look first at his face, to the grim yet hopeful faces of Ezra's family behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So thanks to everyone who reviewed and chose to follow Silent Propinquity, I hope you will enjoy the next chapter – I am so keen to get into this. I am so terribly sorry that it has taken me so long to update – I didn't think it would be more than a week or two, but life ran away with me. But here I it is now! Also review replies are at the bottom, and I am going to go back and fix up some errors I found in my last chapter! I shall try and proof read somewhat better from now on, but it won't be fault free aha. Also Ezra's family is different to the one on the show – so be aware of that thanks.  
Again, I don't own Pretty Little Liars (:**

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I could tell that it wasn't so much a proposed question for my sake; rather a forewarning that Ezra's family was ready. I would need to make room in order to enable them to be there for him as well as the sedation was removed. Pursing my lips, I forced myself to smile tightly as I nodded. Turning back around to face Ezra, I realised that I would need some form of reassurance before leaving this to fate. I tightened my grip around his hand, bent over his motionless body and brushed my lips against his cold cheek. He would be okay. He had to be. Otherwise I didn't know what would happen next. I just, I didn't want to think about the repercussions of any possible negative outcome.

I had to let go, I had to be strong, I had to. Gulping hard, I released my grip and turned away. Bowing my head and silently wiping away the tears that were now trailing down my pale cheek, I moved to sit in the corner of the room. I kept a silent mantra going within my head, repeating over and over that if I was strong everything would be okay. My shifted position allowed his family to work themselves around the hospital bed as the doctor started fiddling with the numerous buttons on the medical equipment that was monitoring Ezra.

"This process may take a while, as the sedation will need to work itself fully out of Ezra's system. The next part will be the hardest, it will be up to him when, if, he comes to" the doctor informed us as he stood back after finishing the necessary actions in order to remove the sedation. As he exited, silence engulfed the confining space. All of Ezra's family had their eyes trained on him, surrounded like a pack of seagulls around a single breadcrumb. My vision of him was basically impossible, and as hard as it was I knew Ezra's family had more right to claim time with him at the moment than I did.

It was all too overwhelming, not just standing by and watching helplessly while I had no real idea as to whether Ezra would survive or not but also the way our relationship thrust into the open like this. I guess I wouldn't really have it any other way though; it wasn't an option to just stand back and wait until I heard news concerning Ezra's wellbeing. Which I guess Ella understood when I called her the night of the accident, however I am not so sure about Ezra's family…

_The morning after the accident_

It was 8am, I had barely left Ezra's side all night - holding his hand tightly and whispering tearful pleads to his un-responding body. Now I was required to step out of the room as the doctors came to do their rounds. My heart wrenched as my mind was filled with millions of tormenting thoughts raced around that I could hardly grab onto and focus on a single one instead of all the numerous possibilities I was filtering through. I so badly wanted to know the comments they were making about Ezra's current condition, whether they thought he would pull through.

As the doctors exited the room to proceed to the next patient, Ezra's main doctor turned to me and informed me that there wasn't a lot more since the previous night that they could offer information wise on Ezra's current state or what was to happen from now, then he told her that his family had been contacted late last night and would be due to arrive at the hospital in approximately half an hour.

"I don't want to tell you what to do, but I would advise that when they arrive it might be for the best that you would allow them some time to adjust to this situation. It is already quite a stressful situation without taking into consideration the remaining factors…", it was mostly a warning that I needn't hear, but appreciated all the same. I hadn't talk personally with the doctor about the situation between Ezra and I, and he was professional enough not to encroach upon the subject but I guess it wasn't too hard for him to know that our relationship was complicated. Particularly with our age difference wouldn't be described as anything akin to subtle.

Thanking the doctor, I moved back into Ezra's hospital room. Sitting at his bedside, I reached down to hold his hand again, savouring the physical contact as it was all the comfort I could get from him in his current state. I didn't want to stay too long as I knew that half an hour was only an estimate time for his family to arrive. I also didn't know how long they would be in with Ezra or when I would be able to check in with him again, so I wanted to make the most of it.

I looked down at Ezra's immobile body, wishing that I could stay with him longer but not knowing his family would, most likely, make it impossibly awkward. I was nervous about facing Ezra's family without him. Ideally, I thought that when I finally met his family it would be by his side, holding his hand as he gave me the calming reassurance he, solely, has only been able to give me in quite a long time. I wasn't even sure his family knew about me at this stage. He didn't exactly talk about them. Well other than sharing some childhood memories and his basic life history, Ezra had only skimmed over details of his family. I knew that they came from a beautiful property interstate – a family that included an older, married brother, a younger sister perhaps a year or two older than me, and his mother and father were still happily married.

I kissed him lightly, before heading off to the hospital cafeteria. I wasn't exactly hungry, but I had been awake for nearly 24 hours whilst surviving off only coffee, so I knew that if I didn't get food into me soon I might collapse. After ordering a coffee and a toasted sandwich, I mindlessly sat at a table by myself facing the entrance of the hospital. I was lost in thoughts of 'what if's'. It had occurred to me a while ago that I have grown jaded in the past few years – starting around when I discovered Byron was cheating, and then Alison's death and everything that followed. It was serverly affecting my confidence in the current situation, making me believe the worste and know that 'realistically' (or so occording to me), I could only hope for positive outcomes. Although, ss grotesque as it might be, I was thankful that for once I wasn't so consumed by thoughts and worries of A and their sabotage of Hannah, Spencer, Emily and I.

Silently biting into my sandwich I noticed a family enter the hospital. Although I was unable to see their faces, I just knew that they were Ezra's family. Repetitively, and quite rapidly my foot started to bounce up and down as I continued to become more and more anxious about the impending meeting of his family, and also how Byron would react to mine and Ezra's relationship. My family wasn't due back until mid-afternoon, so the next few hours were just going to be a waiting game – and the hours that ticked by where exactly that.

Clicking down the unlock button on my phone - the time, 11:57am, glared right back at me. Had I really been awake this long? It was a partial shock as there were no present thoughts of sleep within my mind – however influenced that might be due to the numerous coffees' coursing through my body. I hadn't seen Ezra's family since they entered the hospital, but I assumed they were in with Ezra, who was just down the hall from I was in the waiting room just outside of the intensive care unit. I was getting more and more impatient and tortured. I needed something to happen soon – I couldn't continue to sit here whilst my insecurities keep eating away at me.

With that, my prayers were partially answered. The door of Ezra's hospital room opened, and out came his family with the doctor. I could see that they were discussing something, in a hushed manner in which I wasn't able to make any real detail out of what they were saying. Not that I was really an eavesdropper – but perhaps there was something that the doctors were telling them about that I didn't know. I started to fidget as they made their way down the hall, edging closer and closer to where I was sitting.

Looking intently at them, I wondered if they even knew what I looked like. Surely they had to know about me by now, even if it was by the doctor discretely telling them that I was here as Ezra's girlfriend. What was going to happen when they walked past me…would they stop? Talk to me? Even look at me? Before I had a chance to look away, the youngest girl looked over at me with eyes glistening with unshed tears. Breaking away from the rest of the family, she worked her way towards me at a frighteningly quick pace. I hardly had enough time to stand up and brace myself for whatever was about to happen next.

Before I know it, I was embraced in a diaphragm crushing hug. Taken aback by this action, I stood there shell shocked. Gathering my thoughts as quickly as I could, I looked over the young girls shoulders to where the rest of the family was located. They had progressed quite a bit without my detection – probably due to all of my attention having been on the approaching of the girl that was still embracing me so tightly. As she let go of me, and stood back a few steps, I could examine all five of their faces – his mum, dad, brother and sister – and another, pregnant, women who I guessed would be the wife of Ezra's brother. All of their faces were exactly the same – full of emotional strain, Ezra's mum however had obviously been crying quite heavily. However, anything regarding how they felt towards me or my presence at the hospital was undetectable.

I watched Ezra's brother stepped forward and smiled slightly at me, he seemed to be very similar to Ezra – except for being slightly older, and of stockier build. "Hi, you must be Aria. We've heard a fair bit about you, from the times we actually got to talk to Ezra…" with that, his voice broke, with the emotional weight of the situation we all have found ourselves in. Well at least now I knew they had heard about me – maybe this would make it easier meeting them without Ezra…

_Skips back to where they are in the hospital waiting for Ezra to wake up. _

The last couple of days hadn't been exactly smooth – but they didn't seem to mind me. It wasn't like I was welcomed into the family mourning for their son, their brother – but I had sat with them in the waiting room, and at the cafeteria a few times. I felt the vibration of my phone as it went off in my pocket. I hardly had been using it while everything was going on, but knowing it might be my parents wandering how things were going I pulled it out. Ella had been extremely supportive, coming to the hospital to check up on not only Ezra, by me as well. Making sure I was keeping myself hydrated and fed. It also seemed like had been a talk between her parents about her relationship – Byron seemed to be trying his best to show his support through this tough time, although not as much so as Ella. Flicking into the message I had just received, my blood ran cold.

_**My, my, my Aria, seems like you aren't even apart of Ezra's cosy little family now… Wander just how welcome you would be if they found out you are the reason he is in hospital. Did you really think you could stay happily with him forever? - A.**_

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**Keep the reviews coming! (: also as promised,  
Review Replies:**

**Lucianfan**: Ah, I forgot to say its rated M for future reference – I have ideas of adding a few raunchier scenes and such into it so yeah, I didn't realise til just now you can change the rating later on but yeah. Also thank you for your idea I shall think about it, but don't worry I didn't plan on him losing his memory – in all honesty I did briefly consider it but it is very played out as you said. Thank you for your review! (:

**Rosalindlikespll**: Thank you so much! It meant a lot to me reading your review! I'm getting pretty excited to see this develop as well, I have plenty of ideas now and I am so keen to write this up!

**GilmoreGirls945**: Thank you heaps! Hope you enjoyed this last chapter, there was a bit on Ezra's family and the initial interaction between them – more to come as well, especially when Ezra is awake to deal with it all!

**Bite-me-irish, foreverdream7 & sandra1992**: Ah thank you for your reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guise, so this update came faster than the last one ahah ;)  
Anyway, I know that the start of this is kind of going slow, and there hasn't been any interaction properly between Ezra and Aria. But just wait, there will be plenty soon enough! Another chapter or two, and the story will be all set up. It will all be worth it don't worry. And tghere is going to be plenty of girl on 'A' action to come – drama, drama, drama!  
Also, a sincere thank you to Vampire's Gossip Girl, ClaireBearRAW & .heart for your kind reviews! Keep them coming guise, any ideas, or comments about things happening in the story – don't hesitate to post.  
Well, here's the next instalment (please enjoy!):**

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Emotions.  
They truly are quite a funny thing.

What I find even more ridiculous is the way those emotions can just, drain out of you and leave you feeling numb. In a way, when I received that text and as my blood ran cold within my body, the numbness seeped through me as well. All of the anxiety, the grief over Ezra, and what had happened to him ended up being replaced by just a sense of emotionlessness. There was no anger. Not even a blinding rage, as I believe most people would feel at this point.

I wasn't shocked. I wasn't even fearful. I was just numb.

Whilst feeling like this, there wasn't any way I could formulate a plan of action to what I was to do next. I wasn't even fully aware of what was happening around the room until Ezra's sister, Skye, came and gently placed her hand on my shoulder as she leaned down to my level on the chair.

"Hey, um mum and I are going to step outside for a bit…she needs a break from this room I think, and I know I do too. You're welcome to come if you want…" her tearful strained words pierced through my fog that clouded my brain. I nodded, signalling that I would take her up on the offer. I didn't want to leave Ezra, encase he would wake up. I also didn't want to be in here whilst this situation was at hand.

I needed to clear my head, bash away the clouds in my mind and get my thoughts in order. I needed to understand what exactly A was not only implying in the text, but also threatening. I desperately needed the girls, but it was neither the time nor place. Until I knew whether Ezra would wake up or not, I needed to hold off in calling them into this matter. I wasn't even sure that it would be the right thing to ask for their help, because if the text meant that A had caused the accident and put Ezra in hospital – who knew what they would do to anyone else. This person was not averse to racking up large body count.

Standing up, I looked over longingly at where Ezra lay, I didn't want to encroach upon the rest of his family as they were placed around his bed, but I so badly wished that I could be there, next to him, whispering words of encouragement. Instead, I turned my gaze away, and followed Skye and Esther (Ezra's mum) out into the hallway. Oh, the amount of times I have been in this hallway the past few days.

_The day before, in the hallway_

"Mum, I just, I don't know if I can do this! It's all too much to handle…" Exasperated, I turn to look at my mum. She had come to the hospital to check on me for the fifth time since they had arrived back in Rosewood. We were sitting in the chairs placed along the hallway near Ezra's room; I had started to spend increasingly amounts of time mindlessly sitting there. Since his family had arrived, I wasn't by his bedside for long periods of time, or as consistently as the first night.

I hadn't really fallen apart over everything yet, but I was barely able to keep it together. I just knew I wouldn't be able to keep myself together much longer, but I didn't want Ezra's family seeing me completely distraught. They had enough to worry about as it was, and I didn't want to appear over emotional or attention seeking. Sure, I didn't want to be cold either, but I felt that they knew I was extremely worried about him and what was happening – but I didn't need to show just how deeply it all was affecting me.

"Aww, baby…" those couple of uttered words from Ella was all it took for me to collapse into her already open eyes. Letting loose of all the pent up emotions, I sobbed into her shoulder surely leaving a mark.

"Wh-Why m-mum, why?" I brokenly asked. I just didn't understand why, nor did I even know what to do with myself.

"Aria, darling, in situations like these there is no real reason, and any kind of answer wont offer any real comfort. You're so strong, but I just wish I could make this easier somehow for you – I love you so much!"

_Returns to present day, Aria and Ezra's mum and sister are sitting in the same seats_

A loud sob, that could almost be described as a wail escaped Esther. Drawing me out of my thoughts, I raised the right side of my lips in a half smile. I could understand her distress more than I cared to admit. The same emotions as the other day were threatening to boil over. _No_, I told myself. I would not fall apart in front of Ezra's mum and sister - especially whilst it was so obviously affecting them at the moment. It was a rough situation to be caught in by any standards, and the text I had just received was creating even more stress than I wouldn't have thought imaginable a couple of years ago.

What was I going to do about this new information? The way that the last comment in the text had sounded ("_**Did you really think you could stay happily with him forever?**_"), I was sure it meant that A had somehow been involved in the car accident that had Ezra so badly injured.

It was bad enough when A had hurt Emily and Hannah so terribly – not to mention surely being involved in the murder of Allison and Maya, and the numerous other incidents that are lined up under A's name. But now, going after the love of my life, it was just too far.

If Ezra didn't survive this, nor would A. Even if he did, that wasn't going to stop me taking down whomever this A person was – or whoever they are.

After discovering that Mona had been so involved with the stalking of A, and the threats we had thought that it would be over. But after a while of silence, then receiving messages again from 'A' again, we all just knew that there had to be an accomplice – maybe even a whole team of them.

I wasn't sure if the girls were up to taking A down, I would somehow be able to manage by myself – my rage and protective instincts were proving to be overpowering enough to fuel a whole army whilst attacking a town. Although, I really did hope that they would help me in this. Enough was enough; there were too many lines that had been crossed in this. This one was just that step too close and personal.

Sure, I was strong like my mum had said, but I did conform to a standard. It might not be exactly believable with creating my own style, with a somewhat daring edge in fashion. But when it came to questioning people and standing up for myself - my buttons had to be pushed extremely hard to create a reaction out of me. I hadn't told Ella when I discovered that Byron had cheated, I had followed and been a member of Allison's little 'pose' that consisted of us girls. Even now, Spencer somewhat leaded us as a group and I conformed – granted she wasn't a bitch like Allison, she listened and didn't just boss us around. It all still counted though, I didn't create issues where there wasn't any need for it. Even now, we all tried our best to protect ourselves and those around us that we loved from the threat of A and their power over us. But it was just going too far, and if we didn't stop it now God knows just how far it'll go.

So it was decided. A was going down. I just had to get through the rest of this. After coming sorting all of that out in my head, I focused my attention onto the two ladies beside me. I wasn't sure if they would actually accept me fully as a part of Ezra's life and into their family. I knew my age was an issue, not to mention they mightn't like who I was. But at the moment, it wasn't really the right situation to worry about it in. Ezra was way more important, and I wanted to do my best to be there for them. Even though it was a strain on me, I couldn't imagine how his family was feeling.

Both of them had a bit of a cry as they sat next to me and I was consumed by thoughts of A. They had somewhat composed themselves at the moment, and I decided that it was most likely the most appropriate time to talk to them. Stretching my arm a little bit, I rested it on Skye's shoulder.

"What's on your mind?" I asked her gently. Turning to me, she raised her eyes slightly to meet mine – I wasn't sure she could see me clearly through her damp eyes but she smiled slightly at me anyway.

"Oh, you know. I am just praying that Ezra will make it through. I mean, he has to right? He was meant to come and visit us soon. We haven't seen him much since he moved to attend Hollis. And it wasn't very often that he would call either. I just, he can't go like this." I'm not sure I could understand completely where she was coming from, but I knew how scared she would be feeling towards the possibility of losing Ezra. Noticing that Esther was on the verge of crying again, I reached out over Skye to take her hand in mine. It was a bold move, but I knew that personally I craved that slight bit of physical contact in order to sooth some of my raging emotions. Hoping that the guesture was taken as one of caring oppose to anything else I smiled as best I could at both of them.

"He has to get through this. There's no way he can't, I am sure he knows just how much crap he will be in with all of us if he doesn't wake up soon…" I half tried to joke.

With that, Eric (Ezra's brother) came barging out of the room, the door swinging closed loudly behind him as he rushed over to us.

"Come! Quick! Ezra's coming to," he informed us, at a speed that was just decipherable before rushing down the hallway to get a nurse.

Dropping my hands to my side, I nervously started to play with the hem of my shirt. I stared silently at the door, unsure of if I was ready to face this – mean whilse Skye and Esther had already started to move towards it. _Oh well, here goes nothing, I just pray he remembers me. _


End file.
